


Frosted Perfection

by IcyDeath



Series: Ice Cubes [4]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-11 15:50:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/800440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyDeath/pseuds/IcyDeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is good at doing many things and the guardians figure out why. The perfection in Jack's every talent and action speaks of three centuries worth of loneliness. There's only so much a spirit who is unseen, unheard, and unloved could do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Prompt** : Jack has been alone for quite some time. In that span of time, he must have tried to keep his mind off of loneliness somehow, right? So maybe in his 300 years alone, he has developed a skill due to being able to practice all the time. Maybe he could be an excellent singer or sculptor, etc. and the guardians can catch him in the act; lots of angst to ensue with them realizing the reason why he's so good at it. - _Jesters of the Moon_

## 

Chapter 1 

* * *

__

_Painting_

* * *

_**Past…** _

The first time Jack holds a brush he is enamored.

He has been frosting for over sixty-six thousand, seven hundred and ninety-five days and marvels over one person painting at the landscape of snow before him. Jack floats above, watching as the other shivers and sneezes at the natural cold the winter sprite brings with him wherever he goes.

The frost Jack creates as he walks, flies, and gently ices windows and rocks with his staff is nothing short of an art. But over the course of one hundred eighty three years, he often runs across other spirits who calls him a destroyer, a harbinger of death.

And as Jack leans forward and watches the painter patiently, observing as he mixes colors and smiles at his work, Jack thinks, it is not his fault if _this time_ he wishes to create rather than destroy.

* * *

_**Present…** _

Jack remembers the first time he ever tried his hand at painting. He laughs as he remembers the frosted brush, the days when the paint would freeze over when he finally got the brush to thaw from his frosted touch. The nights he spent by the lake of Burgess painting on rocks, knowing they would be gone in the morning from all the melted snow.

Jack remembers the boy that so wanted to create something so beautiful, to be seen, to be told and praised for _creating_ rather than destroying this time.

The youngest guardians purses his lips as he pays attention to detail, expertly painting leftover googies that ran away and got lost when Bunny was making his preparations for Easter. Over hundreds of them had gathered in front of him- or rather their tiny little legs frozen in place so that they would not escape as Jack makes his masterpiece.

Jack is the harbinger of winter, the death of the seasons, he is a destroyer and he makes a mess wherever he goes.

"It's finally done!" Jack shouts as he jumps up in the air and whoops loudly, waving the egg in his hand. Below him the eggs looked up as Jack carefully floats back down and places the last egg on the pile before icing it.

"I hope Cottontail likes it." He whispers to himself, his happy and confident expression being replaced by nervousness for once. He shakes his head and pulls his hoodie up before turning away. "I should leave before he comes back, he- he won't like seeing me in his Warren."

And just like that, Jack is gone.

* * *

Bunnymund comes back after a long day. Pleased at seeing the happy faces of the kids and even more pleased that no unwanted blizzards happened. In the back of his mind he was worried, he remembered being slightly hard on Jack a few days before, firmly telling him to keep away, but he pushes these worries at the back of his mind as he finally entered his home.

The sentinels greeted him as always with their frozen happy faces. Some were even doing happy jiggly dances with their legs and the old pooka raised an eyebrow at that until-

A whiff of fresh snow, a shiver down his spine. A pink nose twitched and the old warrior's long ears shifted as he looked around with narrowed green eyes, but it wasn't one of anger or annoyance.

"Frost?" Bunny called as he hopped along the path where he saw melted frost on the grass, creating a unique path of dewdrops. At the name of the winter sprite, the sentinels shifted excitedly again but Bunny wasn't paying attention to them as he walked. "Frostbite? Jack, are ya' here, mate?"

No answer and Bunny's ears swiveled in discomfort as he frowned. He turned to his guardian stones and asks, "He's not here anymore, is he?"

The sentinels shook side to side, telling their guardian that _no, Jack left moments ago._ The old guardian sighed as he continued to hop along the path, one or two sentinels following him as he made his way across to the Warren, still following the strong scent of the snow and wondering what Jack had been doing.

"I swear, if it's another prank, I ain't gonna forgive him." Bunny muttered, his good mood ruined by the fact that Jack left so quickly before even talking to him. He continued to hop until he caught sight of a little googie walking depressingly across the grass, a strange but fine blue shade across his shell.

Aster stoops down and extends a paw as the googie climbs onto it and he gave it a good once over, the strange blue painted part of the egg only on one side, the rest in white. Strangely the blue reminded him of Jack's hood and the pale white was the googie's natural color but it was also the tone of Jack's skin.

Curious, the guardian of Hope let the egg go. "Show me where ya' came from." He said and the googie wobbled away from him and into a slightly uneven ground of the warren that shaped it into a small cliff. Bunny followed after it and gently pushed branches and bushes out of the way as he headed to the edge of the cliff, looking down at a cool and hidden glade of the Warren.

The Pooka quickly followed after the egg when it jumped off the cliff but stopped before he fell, making him call out, "Oi!" But the guardian's call out was cut off when he looked down at the glade and his green eyes widened.

Right in front of him, hundreds of his hidden googies were sitting on the cool glade, forming a group of different colors. But it wasn't the gathering of the eggs that left him speechless, no, it was the painting they formed when they were grouped together.

" _Blimey_ …" Bunny took a step forward in awe, taking a better look.

The eggs were painted beautifully and evenly. Blue in different variations from midnight to celeste, white and silver combinations, green the color of life and newly sprouted plants, grey the color of Aster's fur and dark grey the color of his markings.

The googies formed a gigantic painting, only seen above the small cliff Bunny was on. It was the picture of a winter sprite, knees hugged to his chest, surrounded by snow and white and midnight blue, hood up, eyes covered by hair as white as the snow he controls. He had a hand held out and in front of him was no doubt a taller being, a rabbit with sleek and soft looking fur, a paw extended as though to pull the other up, green eyes determined, full of hope…

…and _kind_.

Bunny choked and almost fell but instead he collapsed into a stunned silence, awkwardly sitting down on the edge of the uneven ground looking at the amazing picture that could only by a person who had been there the whole time.

Someone who was not Aster.

It could only be the earlier intruder in Bunny's Warren.

* * *

_**Flashback…** _

" _Can't you do anything besides make a mess?"_ Bunny accused the Winter sprite, poking him on the chest with his paint brush when the youngest guardian succeeded on pulling another prank on him.

Jack laughed an easy laugh at him, hands held up in mock surrender, one hand on his shepherd's staff. Maybe if he'd look closer he'd see the white knuckled grip the other had on it. _"Hey, I'm a talented person. I know a lot of things. I'd even dare say I'm multi-talented."_

Bunny raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that statement. _"Doesn't seem like that to me. Besides, where'd you find the time to be talented?"_ And he turned away, grumbling in annoyance.

His long ears twitched as he heard a soft mumble coming from the other. _"Trust me, Cottontail. Three hundred years… it's a_ long _time to practice a lot of things."_ A bitter tone whispered tiredly.

_**End of Flashback…** _

* * *

Bunny buries his face in his paws, unable to look at the picture anymore. A picture filled with hope and longing _asking_ for forgiveness from the rabbit that was supposed to represent _Hope_ and _Life_ himself…

Jack wasn't supposed to be the one asking forgiveness, this Bunny knows.

This time, it was Bunnymund who actually owes the other an apology.

And the Pooka couldn't feel worse than he already did,

* * *

__

_Ice Sculpting_

* * *

_**Past…** _

Jack remembers the calluses, the scratches, and the bleeding of his pale and small hands when he first tried ice sculpting. Thinking that he'd be an immediate professional with ice sculpting was wrong. It did not mean that by being Winter incarnate and the creator of Ice that he was immediately going to be good at it.

Good was very, _very_ far from it.

"Ouch!" Jack, barely five years old since being born from is lake, winces as he tries to fashion a small house with the ice he created from his staff. He frowns at the imperfect creation and sighs, deciding to do it again. He had all the time in the world, true, but he really wanted to finish this quickly.

The wind curls around him, ruffling his hair gently and questioningly as Jack winces again from the sharp tools he uses as he fashioned the house.

"Oh? This?" He says cheerfully, grinning. "I'm making this for a little girl from the village. She keeps going to my lake and she seems pretty sad so I wanted to make this for her."

The wind blew harder and Jack laughs as it tries to help him by pushing on his tools or else delaying the melting of the ice, which was unnecessary since Jack was like a human snowman with cold hands that would make the ice freeze rather than melt.

Jack grins and looks down at his creation and smiles gently, "Thank you. I'll do my best."

* * *

It took Jack _fifty-five years_ to finally make a decent ice sculpture and everyday he goes and talks to the girl by his lake, telling her to wait a little more because he was almost finished. He notices her getting older but thinks it was just a strange human thing, maybe shape shifting or something like the dryads did, and he thinks nothing more of the wrinkles on her face or the faraway look in her eyes that gets dimmer every time he sees her.

Yeah- when _he_ sees _her._

Because obviously, _she_ cannot see _him_.

Like everybody else.

But Jack doesn't mind. She visits his lake, even though doesn't visit _him_ \- he heard her brother died in his lake, and Jack is sorry he could not have saved him at the time before his birth- he still appreciates the scraps of company.

The day Jack finishes the sculpture he flies eagerly to the lake and sits on the center, eager for the lady to come by and see the small sculpture of her house he placed at the side of his lake earlier. A few people came and pass, wearing black clothes that stood out in the white of the snow but Jack ignores them and his curiosity for the first time, opting to stay and wait.

It was only three days later that Jack thinks that _maybe_ the lady wasn't coming today.

Jack worries, takes the sculpture and flies to the house of the lady he has known for years. He finds it and is shocked to see at how run down it was, no longer the warm little house he used to peek through during Christmas so many years ago. It looked abandoned, old, and sad.

"I can't believe Pippa Overland really is gone." A middle-aged lady whispers and Jack catches it as he turns abruptly. Pippa was the name of the girl or lady that visits- _visited_ him! Where was she? And what do they mean by _gone_?

"I heard she's buried by the forest, near the lake her brother died in. Is that true?" Another whispers and Jack was off even before they whisper the last question, flying towards the forest in excitement.

Jack finds not the old lady that used to sit by the side of the lake, talking to someone- Jack presumes to be her brother's spirit long gone. Instead he finds a stone with similar symbols of the girl's name she wrote so long ago on the snow.

_**R.I.P.** _

_**Pippa Frost  
** _ **A wonderful, caring, and loving grandmother, mother, daughter, and sister.**

_As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words._

Jack could not read the other words, but he traces and recognizes the name on the headstone and he feels his heart clench, his eyes widen and burn with a strange sensation. He does not know what the stone stands for, he does not know where the lady is. But he _feels-_ knows that he will not see her anymore.

And that strikes something in Jack and for the first time in his life he feels cold. He shudders and places the carefully made gift in front of the gravestone and stands up, his legs feel like lead as he walks away and swings his staff rather meaninglessly.

Jack does not know yet what death is at the time but he assumes enough to know that he does not like it. But with his limited knowledge of the world he draws one conclusion, though:

 _Death_ was the _permanent_ way of taking something or someone precious to Jack.

* * *

_**Present…** _

North notices that Jack has been in personal study for several hours. He left the boy there after he had to attend to several redesigning of his toys which was hours ago. The teen sprite had a deep look of concentration on his face, as though he was trying to remember something very important, but _what_ , North did not know.

So he comes back, after hours and hours of pouring over blue prints and redesigning of toys, to his office only to find Jack still there. But he wasn't thinking anymore, no, rather Jack seemed to be doing something very important. He had the same look of concentration on his face and North notices the tools for ice sculpting on the other's hands.

"Ah, you are sculpting something, Jack?" North asks in a low voice because he does not want to startle the poor boy and cause him to create a mistake.

But Jack doesn't even flinch. He lets out a mild hum of confirmation as he continued what he was doing and North watches in wonder as long fingers do their jobs expertly, ice picks and die grinders used naturally with utmost safety as Jack does his work.

The techniques were something to be expected from the maker of Ice himself. It was as though he knew which bits of the ice were in danger of breaking off with too much force and which parts of the ice were perfect for a certain curvature. It was like the _ice_ was a part of Jack himself- and North wouldn't be shocked if it was so.

Although the old Santa could not see what the other was doing, he had no doubt in his mind that it was a perfect little piece of _something_ what with the utmost care and precision Jack handled it.

"Done." Jack says a few minutes later as he takes off the goggles he used to protect his eyes from as he chipped and carved perfection from ice. North was eager to see what the young boy had created but before he could ask, Jack tosses him the goggles and grins.

"Thanks for letting me use your tools North. I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow, okay?" The guardian of Fun says with a wave as he grabs his staff and jumps towards the nearest window to free fall before the wind catches him expertly.

North braces himself for the cold gust before sighing at the abrupt departure. Maybe he could ask Jack about his secrets for ice sculpting next time.

However, just as the guardian of Wonder turns to leave, he notices a small and familiar blue doll. It seems like the youngest guardian forgot his matryoshka!

He could've given it tomorrow when they met again, but North was eager to find an excuse to talk to the other about his skills, so instead he grabs his coat and two spare snow globes. He pockets the other and takes the other one to shake, "Burgess' lake." He whispers and throws.

* * *

North does not see Jack when he steps out of the portal. It takes him a few minutes of wandering around before he sees a small clearing in the forest.

Despite his size, North was able to walk stealthily to that spot of the forest- he _is_ Santa Claus after all- without being seen. He sees a familiar blue hooded spirit and was about to call out happily but then he shifted his eyes and freezes.

Jack seems to be kneeling, head bowed in front of a headstone.

"Jack?" North whispers instead but the sprite had begun to talk.

"Hey there Pippa, I finally remembered who you _really_ are." Jack says in a breathless voice that seemed winded but also _so sad_ that it breaks North's heart. "I haven't got _all_ of my memories back, but Tooth says that it just takes time to regain everything so I have to wait a bit- but- but I remember you."

Silence and North kneels down behind a tree, staring at the frost sprite whose shoulders were shaking slightly, staff still standing tall as the other leans against it for support.

"You're my _sister_." He said in that same breathless voice. "My _sister_. I don't remember everything about us, but I at least remember _that_. I remember how important you were to me and how much fun I had everyday with you and mum."

Jack chokes a bit and North digs his hand on the tree bark in front of him, wanting to reach out but he knows the other would run away if he ever realizes the old Santa was there.

"I'm- I'm happy you came to visit me at the lake everyday." Jack reaches up an arm to rub at his eyes. "Even- even though you couldn't see me, I was happy. _Thank you_."

There was silence and the quiet atmosphere of the forest was only broken by the hiccups coming from Jack, reminding North of how _young_ Jack really was. An immortal teenager. Forever frozen in that body that barely hit puberty. Sometimes, North wondered why Manny chose to turn a boy so young.

"So, I-I made you this anyway. Today is a special day for you and- and I remembered making one a few centuries back for you but I wasn't able to give it to you on time back then, so… sorry." Jack said as he took deep breaths and took out the sculpture he made at North's. "Here. I was able to make it on time today. I guess, _years_ of doing this finally paid off." He said quietly as he placed it carefully in front of the gravestone.

Jack stared at it for a few seconds before he stood up, rubbed his eyes, and brushed off the snow on his pants and hoodie. He turned away, exhaling loudly as though trying to get himself back together.

"Happy birthday and death anniversary, P-Pippa." Jack's voice breaks at the name and he bites his lips as he swings his staff and the wind comes strong and carries him away in a flurry of snowflakes.

North stands at his hiding place for a few more minutes before he steps out courageously and approaches the grave hidden in the forest.

He kneels down in front of the stone and stares at the centuries old grave mark. The writing was no longer distinguishable and the stone was crumbling to pieces at the side, looking like some old artifact. The older guardian wonders how come no scientist has come to take this away yet for history research, but he guesses Jack has something to do with it.

He looks down the grave and finally his eyes see what he is looking for.

There are several broken pieces and left over ice surrounding it, proof that there used to be more sculptures but they were either melted by the sun or else were broken because of wandering animals. The rough texture and uneven tone of the ground spoke of hundreds of sculptures placed before, and North feels his heart clench again.

He reaches out and very carefully takes the lone sculpture Jack placed recently.

It was a small sculpture of four people, a _family_.

There was a mother, a father, a little sister, and of course Jack. The parents had their arms around their children and the children held unto the hands of their parents. They were standing together, their faces in an eternal smile, showing off a past happiness that Jack yearned for so much.

The great big hands shake a bit as a tear slides down the old Cossack's eyes and unto the perfect sculpture. The perfect crevices, the perfect carving of the faces from a three hundred year old memory spoke volumes of Jack's years when he was left alone, forgotten, and walked through.

The skill speaks of years of perfection with no other occupation to be done. Talent crafted and persevered because no one could give Jack the time of day he craved, wanted, and _needed_.

And it takes North an entire hour to stare at the piece of perfection before he finally puts it down in front of Pippa's grave and rises to go back to his home, to the North Pole.

He forgets the blue little doll he was supposed to give to Jack, he forgets the question he wished to ask Jack with regards to his ice sculpting abilities. North forgets and does not bother to remember as he takes out a globe and throws it rather meaninglessly.

The portal appears before him and he stares at it and sighs, feeling older than before. He does not know what to do… what action is there to be done towards a sin that has already been committed? What do you do to take away the three centuries of loneliness you enforced on a winter sprite you owe everything to?

North does not know the answer to that, but he vows he will find an answer for that soon.

And with new determination, the guardian of Wonder steps through the portal and to home.

He vows to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jack's sister is really named Pippa Overland. This was announced a long time ago by an ROTG fan whose father had a job in dreamworks studios so yeah, you can't change my mind about this.
> 
>  _As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words._ **William Shakespeare**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the final chapter! Since the prompter only asked for the guardians realizing the reason why Jack is so talented, I fulfilled it. I don't know if I'm gonna place third one but we'll leave it this way for now.
> 
> Thank my notebook, since I forgot it at home, I was able to come home and finish this.

## 

Chapter 2 

* * *

_Healing_

* * *

_**Past…** _

He was clumsy in the first few years of his life. Flying around, the wind dropping him now and again- Jack could only be thankful that somehow he seemed to be immortal because no one would probably be able to survive a thirty feet fall like him- he's got scratches and burns when he wandered too close to a tropical country, a fever-or the opposite of a fever- when he accidentally ate berries that were poisonous, an injury now and then when he faced dangerous beings that wanted to harm children-

Basically Jack was a mess on his first hundred years of living. He didn't know how others went through a day uninjured. Maybe if he was less clumsy or if he could fight better he wouldn't be covered in injuries every other day or something, or maybe if he had someone with him, someone that could help him if he got stuck in another thorny bush he-

But he had no one had he? No one to look after him and tell him what he was doing was right or wrong, no one to reach out a hand when he fell…

So Jack had better get used to just being injured so much because Jack had no one.

"You fell again?" Came an exasperated voice from the house whose roof Jack was currently lying on. The Frost sprite tilted an eyebrow and casually slid to the side of the house before carefully twisting his body like so and hanging against the gutters with his feet to look into the windows upside down.

"I-I'm sorry." The little boy sniffled as he rubbed at his eyes, Jack looked to the side and saw the imposing figure of the mother who 'tsked' softly in disapproval but went to the boy's side patting his head.

"It's fine, but you should come to me sooner okay?" The mother scolded softly and Jack watched her with interest as she went to the cabinets and took out a strange box with a weird marking. She took out some bandages and began to tend the injury with a gentle smile on her face.

The guardian of fun expression morphed from curiosity to one of sad longing as the window in front of him began to frost. As carefully as he could, he let himself drop from the side of the house before flipping expertly to land on the balls of his feet.

So that was how people treated their injuries. Having someone else patch it up for them.

Looking at his pale arms filled with scratches and bruises, Jack decided that the treatment the mother was applying to her son was something he really needed to learn for himself.

Just so he wouldn't get hurt anymore.

* * *

_**Present…** _

Bunny and North had been strange lately, this, Sandy- as the guardian of dreams and the expert on silence and actions- had noticed.

The two seemed to be thinking too deeply about something and what that was, he was not sure. There was one thing he was sure of however and that was, it had, one way or another, something to do with the current guardian of Fun, Jack Frost.

He had seen and noticed, when Bunny and Jack met, the winter sprite would flinch and force a guilty smile on his face as though he had done another prank onto the other and deeply regretted it. It had been Easter recently after all, so maybe Sandy hadn't been too far off the mark on that one.

Meanwhile, Bunny instead of berating the kid and looking all angry and huffy- which was his usual expression when Jack did something wrong- seemed equally abashed and even ashamed whenever he met Jack. He always looked like there was something he wanted to say, words playing on the tip of his tongue he was unable to voice for reasons unknown.

He seemed at awe, regretful, and, if the long rabbit ears were any indication, ashamed.

That was puzzling, indeed.

"Jack, my boy, would you like another round of eggnog?" North called out from the kitchen. Jack turned, a puzzled look on his face and shrugged.

"I'm fine." He called back, but blue eyes were confused.

Well, Sandy didn't blame him.

North had been more peculiar than Bunny. Ever since three days ago, he would constantly ask for the winter sprite, even when Jack was only pranking about as usual.

He never scolded Jack, not that he did before, but instead of laughing when the guardian of Fun pulled a hilarious one of Phil, North would smile a soft and fond smile that made Jack shrink a little in shame.

Sandy knew what the other was thinking, North had been so kind as to give him a room and everything and he, Jack, gets in the way of the yeti's work. The lack of laughter and the smile from North confused the sprite, and he pranked less and less because of North's queer and worrying actions.

Although Sandy knew that North didn't mean to make the boy uncomfortable, he was just being the usual _fatherly_ North.

"Here, I went and got some chocolate eggs for ya." Bunny said in a low voice as he hurriedly shoved a well made Easter egg into a stunned Jack's hands.

"Uhm, thanks Kangaroo?" Jack said uncertainly but with a bright smile, and Bunny just grumbled before he turned away, ears drooping even more to both Sandy and Jack's confusion.

Did those two come to learn something about Jack that made them like this?

Sandy tilted his head and a question mark floated on top of his head as Jack turned to meet his eyes. The boy in question shrugged his shoulders. A couple of elves then latched themselves to Jack's trousers and it wasn't long before Jack had to turn his attention away to entertain the little buggers.

Sandy turned his back and floated towards North. He could hear Tooth fluttering about in the room, chatting up different creatures at once with her bilingual tongue.

When the guardian of Dreams stopped in front of the old Santa, he wasted no time in signing his confusion. He showed a question mark made of golden sand before shifting it to a sandflake that represented Jack.

It took awhile, for North to decipher the message. Sand just patiently dropped himself to the ground and tapped his feet as he showed his question via sands again.

Geez, these people were slow on getting the message.

"No, no Sandy. Stop." North rubbed his nose as the older guardian redid his question several times, each time the sands were getting closer to the Cossack's face. "I know, I get your question. Get itchy things away from the face."

Sandy huffed and crossed his arms but did as he was told. He flashed one more question mark on North's field of vision, _So?_

"You are sharp." North said as he groomed his beard. "Although nothing is wrong, you have noticed my strange actions and Bunny's as well. I do not know why he is acting as he is, like a rabbit trying to please his master-" A rabbit ear twitched towards their direction and Sandy covered his mouth in a silent giggle, as the Pooka growled quietly, ten feet away from them. "But I have reasons to be as I am. I am merely worried for Jack, want him to feel welcomed-"

And North turned his sad blue eyes to the laughing teen who were swinging the elves, "-And not alone."

Bunny, although faraway, bent his head, ears pressed to his skull as though he was scolded. Golden eyes looked at North in inquiry and the old pirate thief just smiled at the old wishing star.

"'Tis nothing. Just one of those great, big revelations." North completed this statement with an exaggerated wave of his hands. "It's just I have realized…" Blue eyes looked at Jack once more, oblivious to the three pairs of eyes watching him.

"Three hundred years, it's a long time to be alone."

Silence.

Sandy nodded slowly, his sands unable to form the feeling he felt in his heart at the statement.

"AH!" A loud shriek alerted the four guardians to Jack and the elves again.

"JACK?" North and Bunny immediately shouted and rushed to the teen as Sandy followed them and behind him, he heard Tooth's frantic buzzing.

"Are you alright, mate?" Sandy heard Bunny's concerned voice as he tried to peek from behind North's burly stature.

"Ow, Bunny, I'm fine!" Jack complained and Sandy looked just in time to see Jack roll his eyes up at the Easter Kangaroo. "It's this little guy that's in trouble."

And sure enough, beside Jack was a crying elf, wrapped in the colorful Christmas lights of North's tree.

"I told him, the bulbs would explode if he kept that up." Jack sighed in exasperation, Sandy did not miss the strange bent of Jack's arm as he did this, nor the pursed lips as he lifted the elf and tangled him away from the lights. "I told you so, little guy."

The small elf cried, and Sandy noticed the blood trickling from the elf's head.

"Phil, quickly go get first aid kit-" North began to order but Jack interrupted him.

"Hey, no need!" Jack said as he placed his hand inside of the pocket of his hoodie and produced a small first aid kit. "I got this covered. I attended several boring medical seminars, so I'm qualified to give first aid." Jack said in a proud voice, but Sandy noticed a certain tone behind it, slightly wistful and hurt.

The eternal teen fished out a sterilized wet cloth in a ziplock bag and a bandage. He carefully pulled the elf's jingling attire aside to look at the gash on the other's forehead.

The elf winced as Jack placed the cloth on his injury and cleaned it before taking out the band aid.

"Now stay still, I have to cover it up so it won't get infected." Jack said as he tossed the sterilized and now bloody cloth to Phil, who proceeded to throw it away.

"There." Jack said with a huge smile as he finished and he lifted the elf. "Now was that so bad?"

The elf shook its head, and behind Jack, North sighed and Bunny huffed, while Tooth squealed at the cute scene.

"Where'd you learn to do first aid?" Bunny asked with crossed arms.

Jack's smile turned wistful. "Around." He replied. "Sometimes you just have a lot of free time in hand and hey, what better things to do than to learn a new set of skills right?"

Silence.

"Now, let's eskimo kiss that pain away." Jack said as he leaned forward and rubbed his nose softly on the elf's recovering head. The elf giggled and Jack stood up, suddenly wincing.

"Jack!" North reacted automatically. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt while catching Kringle?"

The pained expression smoothly shifted to a smiling one. "A bit. But it's fine. Nothing like an expert healer, like me, can't fix." Jack waved it off as he walked away with the elf in his arms.

North and Bunny exchanged looks before they nodded and called out to Jack, following him, leaving Tooth and Sandy alone.

There was silence between them as Sandy thought over what just happened.

"It makes you wonder doesn't it? Why he learned to be a healer?" Tooth said in a quiet voice. "I wonder who healed Jack's wounds for the last three hundred years."

Sandy was silent as his golden eyes followed the young boy who was _way_ older than he looked. His sands formed around him gently as his thought composed themselves in the forms of the sand.

_No one._

_No one healed his wounds but himself._

_He has learned to heal, so he can heal and help others. And maybe-_

Sandy's eyes closed.

_So that he, himself, would no longer be hurt, too._

* * *

_Lullabies_  


* * *

_**Past…** _

He remembered this song.

It strikes a chord in him, a painful one, when he hears it. He remembers it somehow, mouth forming words long forgotten, but his voice is stuck in his throat and his eyes burn. He is sitting on top of a tree, watching a man play his harp as children around him listen, yawning as the sun goes down on another quiet day.

_Holl amrantau'r sêr ddywedant_

_Ar hyd y nos_

_"Dyma'r ffordd i fro gogoniant,"_

_Ar hyd y nos._

It is Welsh, he knows this. A, lately, very popular lullaby sung by mothers to their children, and Jack wants to learn it. He wants to sing songs that made little kids go to sleep with smiles on their faces.

_Golau arall yw tywyllwch_

_I arddangos gwir brydferthwch_

_Teulu'r nefoedd mewn tawelwch_

_Ar hyd y nos._

He doesn't know what it means, not yet anyway, but he is eager to understand the meaning behind the words. He could go to the library and translate it word by word, it might be difficult but he had nothing better to do.

_O mor siriol, gwena seren_

_Ar hyd y nos_

_I oleuo'i chwaer ddaearen_

_Ar hyd y nos._

And maybe, after he learns what each word means, he can start learning how to sing it too. So that when he sneaks into the houses of kids while they sleep and have nightmares, he can sing to them this familiar lullaby that made his heartache. He could comfort them when their parents were sleeping, and then maybe after he sung to them, he'd get to see them smile too.

_Nos yw henaint pan ddaw cystudd_

_Ond i harddu dyn a'i hwyrddydd_

_Rhown ein golau gwan i'n gilydd_

_Ar hyd y nos._

Jack applauded with the kids when the singer finished, a smile on his face as the children ran back to their parents and the man stood up to dust his pants. Jack stood up on the tree and stretches and turned his back on the man, about to leave and eager to start on this new project, when the man below suddenly began to speak.

" _Mae hyn ar gyfer y bachgen sydd heb unrhyw un i ddal ef drwy'r nos._ " He said in a grave tone. Jack turned, eyebrows furrowed. The guy was talking to no one, his back turned on Jack before he started to walk away, leaving a confused winter sprite staring after him.

It takes Jack ten years to finally memorize the song and translate it, along with what the man said after he sung the lullaby.

When he finally understood the song and the phrase, the winter sprite cried for reasons he couldn't understand as he held a book in his hands.

* * *

_**Present…** _

Jack had come to her with a request one day. One she could not deny, for, like her fellow guardians, Toothiana was also willing to help Jack in any way that she could.

"Your memory box?" Tooth repeated amidst the buzz of another busy day collecting teeth.

Jack scratched his cheek and nodded. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble Tooth. I'd understand if you were busy though, I just had to check on something important."

The guardian of Memories tilted her head as she flew around Jack. Hesitation was evident on his face and there was also the stiff set of his shoulders that spoke of fear at being rejected. The tooth fairy smiled an encouraging smile, her heart twisting at Jack's obvious discomfort.

It's like he expected to be rejected every time he asked for something. As though she would turn him away harshly and in annoyance, calling him a nuisance.

"Jack, I won't mind giving you your memory box. Baby Tooth can handle the nest while I go get it." Tooth said gently, and automatically, the fairy dubbed 'Baby Tooth' chirped in response as she overtook the duty of her mother. The fairy queen placed a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder, the boy looked stunned at Tooth's easy acceptance.

"This way, Jack."

Jack flew beside Tooth as she guides him through the complicated and grand halls of her palace before finally stopping at double-oaked doors.

"This is where we keep the teeth of children who has passed away in the 1700s." Tooth said quietly and Jack snapped his head towards her in surprise.

"Tooth, y-you knew?" Jack said, his voice breathless with surprise. The tooth fairy pursed her lips. It looked like she had a lot of things she wanted to say to Jack, her eyes were getting watery but she just shook her head and pushed open the door.

Jack followed her as she flew towards a high section of the room, her hands pressing on the delicate gold as it shone and released a familiar looking memory box. She cradled the container of the precious teeth in her hands carefully, the warmth of the past Jack's life comforting her as she turned to the current Jack.

"Here." She said quietly. Jack took it and Tooth reached out a finger and pressed the middle jewel, opening it to reveal Jack's human teeth. "Just place your hands over one teeth in particular and you'll see the memory it holds."

Jack nodded numbly as he placed on pale finger over the teeth in the middle. And just like that, blue eyes went blank as Jack looked over his memories.

Tooth knew that the time that passed by in the memory was different from the time in the memory. What could take a day in the memory would only be a few seconds in reality.

And sure enough-

Tooth's eyes widened and she placed her hands on her mouth, as she gasped.

Iced tears dropped down onto the memory box as Jack looked on blankly, tears cascading down his cheeks as his human teeth shone in an eerie white light.

"Jack!" Tooth yelled as she grabbed the box. Once the object was wrenched out of his grasp, Jack let out a huge breath as he fell back in surprise. "Jack!" She yelled in worry, flying towards the fallen guardian but Jack only held up a hand, the other hand covering his eyes.

"I see…" He said in a soft murmur. "That was _him_." He laughed as the tears slid across his pale cheeks before he rubbed them away. "Thanks for showing me the box Tooth. I have somewhere to be now, so I'll see you." He said with a smile that seemed more pained than happy.

And just like that, Jack Frost flew out of the room, going somewhere Tooth suspected she could never reach him.

* * *

When Jack came back, Tooth is unaware of him.

Everything is a blur of feathers and teeth and cooing and- _oh look it's her first teeth_.

Everyday was like this and the rush usually made Tooth one very happy fairy because the business of her job signified the number of belief for her. But currently, her mind kept coming back to one certain sprite, and her heart and mind were uneasy from yesterday's worry.

"I'm going to take a break." She finally said to one fairy who nodded at her mother in worry. Baby Tooth was nowhere to be seen but then again, she was probably out with Jack. She had a habit of flying off to Jack when she sensed he was sad or lonely.

Tooth sighed as she flew through the halls. Her exasperation echoed around her as she headed towards her room-

_Sleep my child and peace attend thee,  
All through the night_

_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping_

Tooth paused as she heard the voice echoing, she turned sharply, her ears picking up the soft lullaby being sung.

_I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night_

_Angels watching, e'er around thee,_  
 _All through the night_

She flew quietly towards a certain room, her feathers ruffling in anticipation as she peeks through a door left ajar. It was the room of her mini fairies, the place where they took breaks when they changed shifts.

A certain boy was by the window, singing to several sleeping mini fairies. Baby Tooth was on his palms, she was looking up at him with wide eyes as he continued to sing the sad lullaby.

_Midnight slumber close surround thee,_  
All through the night  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night 

Often it is said, that what made a voice beautiful was the quality of it, the way it hit the notes the right way, the way it sounded pleasing to the ears.

_While the moon her watch is keeping_  
All through the night  
While the weary world is sleeping  
All through the night 

But music was more than that.

What made a song beautiful was not only the song itself, or the quality of the voice used, but it is the emotions that play behind it that made it beautiful.

_O'er thy spirit gently stealing_  
Visions of delight revealing  
Breathes a pure and holy feeling  
All through the night 

The soft tone, the quiet huffs of breath and the sharp inhales Jack took now and then, the way his voice trembled, and the times he choked at certain words like they caused him certain pain…

_Though I roam a minstrel lonely_  
All through the night  
My true harp shall praise sing only  
All through the night 

It was the pure and raw longing behind the tone and the words- these were what made the tears fall from amethyst eyes as Jack continued to sing, unkowing of one extra audience he had.

_Home through the night_  
Earthly dust from off thee shaken  
Soul immortal shalt thou awaken  
With thy last dim journey taken  
Home through the night 

The mini fairies applauded quietly in the room as Tooth tried to suppress her hiccups while she wiped at her eyes.

"There, I sang for you, now can you go to sleep?" Jack said in exasperation. Tooth her the fairies chirping.

_Oh please sing some more!_

_We love your voice!_

_Will there be no more nightmares?_

"If you have nightmares, don't be afraid. I'll sing to you until their gone. How does that sound?" Jack asked and Tooth could almost imagine him grinning. She took another peek, seeing the immortal tucking the baby fairies in, as they cheered in approval at Jack's proposition.

"Okay, okay. Go to sleep now. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. Even if I have to stay all through the night." He said with a soft smile as he sat by their bed side. The small fairies excited chattering died down into soft breathing and Tooth watched fondly as they fell asleep one by one.

Jack looked down at the mini girls and sighed as he turned to the window, to look up at the moon. He remembered a phrased, so long ago, told to him by the one who sang to him when he was reborn as Jack Frost.

" _Mae hyn ar gyfer y bachgen sydd heb unrhyw un i ddal ef drwy'r nos._ " Jack said softly as he leaned against the window, closing his eyes, a memory playing in his mind.

Meanwhile, Tooth quietly closed the door to the room. She was multilingual fairy and the phrase Jack uttered did not escape her as she turned away. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes once more.

 _This is for the boy who has no one to hold him through the night._ Was what Jack had said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The man who sang the lullaby in Welsh, was **Jack's father.**
> 
> The headcanon here is that, Jack remembered his father trying to compose a lullaby which was why the song sounded familiar to him. His father was part Welsh and to honor tradition, he tried to make a lullaby in the Welsh language. He completed it after Jack died, and he went to his home country to spread it to the children, since he remembered Jack loved children.
> 
> He dedicated the song to his son, who had died recently and had no one caring for him while he was in heaven since his family was still alive and praying for his soul.


End file.
